Obituaries

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Deacon Thomas Corcoran

Class of 1974

Deacon Thomas Corcoran, 81, died Jan. 23.

He was ordained in 1994 and served at St. Raymond de Penafort Parish, Mount Prospect (1994-2003), and Our Lady of the Wayside Parish, Arlington Heights.

At Our Lady of the Wayside, Deacon Corcoran oversaw the care and outreach ministries, including Respect Life, PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), Our Lady of Unity (formerly St. Mark) sharing parish activities, ministry of care, bereavement ministries, shawl ministry, special needs ministry and domestic abuse ministry.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Irene.

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Sr. André Panepinto

Educator

Providence Sister André (Genevieve Louise) Panepinto, 82, died Jan. 11 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Joliet, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1960 and professed final vows in 1968. During her 64 years in religious life, she ministered in elementary education in Illinois for 22 years, nine of which were as principal. After four years as director of the Learning Resource Center at St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana, she taught another 20 years in Massachusetts, retiring in 2012.

In 2015, she moved back to Illinois, giving service as needed to her sisters. In 2018, she moved to the motherhouse where she ministered as a driver. Beginning in 2022, her physical condition required that she dedicate herself totally to the ministry of prayer.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served at Maternity BVM (1965-1968) and Mother Guerin Convent, River Grove (2015-2018).

She is survived by a sister, Mary Kay Scholtes, and a brother, Ignatius Panepinto.

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Sr. Donita Mathis

Educator, nurse

School Sister of Notre Dame Donita Mathis, 95, died Jan. 14 at Resurrection Life Center.

Born in Chicago, she was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for 72 years. She served as an elementary school teacher in Chicago and Blue Island and as a registered nurse in Chicago, Oak Park and Des Plaines. She was a minister of prayer and presence at Frances Manor in Des Plaines, Resurrection Life Center in Chicago and Marian Village in Homer Glen.

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Sr. Agnes Cunningham

Educator

Servant of the Holy Heart of Mary Sister Agnes (Mary) Cunningham, 101, died Jan. 22 in Clifton, Illinois.

Born in England, she was raised in Chicago and was a parishioner of Visitation and St. Gall parishes in her youth. She entered the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary in 1940 and professed vows in 1943.

Sister Agnes ministered in education, teaching elementary school through post-graduate students. She was a professor of church history and patristics at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary from 1967 to 1991, where she helped to educate and form a generation of lay men, priests and bishops. In addition, she served as a freelance writer, theological consultant and translator for her religious community. She was the first female president of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

On her 80th jubilee, she mused, “I wish that everybody knew that as we are passing through times of darkness, challenge and doubt … God still gives us strength and love to support others.”

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Fr. Thomas Lamping

Retired associate pastor

Father Thomas E. Lamping, 70, died Dec. 31, 2024. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former associate pastor of St. Bartholomew.

Born in Joliet, he attended Bertha-Hewitt High in Bertha, Minnesota, Crosier Seminary in Onamia, Minnesota; Indiana University in Fort Wayne, Indiana; and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1984.

Father Lamping served as associate pastor of St. Joseph, Summit; St. Philomena (now San José Luis Sánchez Del Río), St. Jerome; Queen of Angels (now part of Queen of Apostles); and St. Bartholomew.

Father Michael Gabriel, one of Father Lamping’s classmates, remembered Father Lamping as a great person who “loved life and was incredibly dedicated to the priesthood.”

Gabriel also recalled Father Lamping’s close relationship with his family, how “he was very dedicated to his parents and really loved those around him.”

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Fr. James Flynn

Pastor emeritus

Father James E. Flynn, 82, died Jan. 5. He was pastor emeritus of Holy Name of Mary Parish.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1967.

Father Flynn was assistant pastor of St. Priscilla, Resurrection (now part of St. Martin de Porres) and Our Lady of the Mount Parish (now part of Our Lady, the Mystical Rose Parish) in Cicero. He served as associate pastor of St. Angela (now part of St. Simon Cyrene) and Holy Name of Mary (now part of Our Lady of Kibeho Parish), where he was named pastor emeritus after he retired in 2012.

He served in retirement at Ascension-St. Susanna in Harvey and St. Gerard Majella in Markham.

Father Thadeo Mgimba, archdiocesan priest and one of Father Flynn’s close friends, remembers Father Flynn as a remarkable person who “was very simple, humble and had a golden heart.”

“He was my spiritual father, my mentor and my friend,” Mgimba added.

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Fr. Stephen Kanonik

Pastor

Father Stephen F. Kanonik, 68, died Jan. 7. He was pastor of St. Benedict Parish on Irving Park Road.

Born in Chicago, Father Kanonik attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1982.

He served as associate pastor of St. Bruno and St. Louise de Marillac, La Grange Park. He then served as pastor of St. Ladislaus, St. Juliana and St. Benedict Parish. He also served as moderator of the curia and recently had been a member of the Priest Placement Board.

Father Thomas Refermat, associate pastor of St. Benedict, remembered Father Kanonik as “a man who loved the people, cared for the people and wanted to speak up for his parishioners.” “He loved them, and his parishioners loved him, especially the children,” Refermat said. “Working side by side with him, I always saw him as an older brother.”

Father James Kastigar, one of Father Kanonik’s classmates, remembers Father Kanonik as a “very kind, gentle man who really loved other people and he took time to listen to them. He’d always stop what he was doing to talk to people.”

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Deacon Robert Boharic

Class of 1999

Deacon Robert Boharic, 79, died Jan. 12. He was ordained in 1999 and served at St. Paul VI Parish, formerly at St. Mary, Riverside.

Born at Misericordia Maternity Home in Chicago and then adopted, he attended St. Sabina Parish and Leo High School.

A former U.S. Marine, Deacon Boharic was a prosecutor and a judge in Cook County. He told Chicago Catholic in 2012 that his journey to the diaconate began after his son, Bobby, died of a childhood cancer in 1982.

At that time, he and his wife, Kathleen, began to dig deeper into their faith and became more active in their parish.

Deacon Boharic is survived by his wife, his children Father Thomas Boharic, Marie Schwarzenberger, Margaret Boharic and John Boharic; and seven grandchildren.

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Sr. Paul Marie Pietroczynski

Educator

Felician Sister Paul Marie (Mary Pulveria, Stella) Pietroczynski, 101, died Dec. 19 in Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended Holy Trinity School and Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1950. She ministered in various elementary schools as a teacher and principal in Illinois, Wisconsin, Alabama and Minnesota. She also served in the Mercy Home for Boys & Girls Phone Ministry from 2004 to 2017.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Bruno (1942-1943); St. Turibius (1944-1946); St. Bronislava (1946-1947); St. Mary Magdalene (1947-1948); St. Hedwig, Niles (1948-1851); Our Lady of the Gardens (1955-1970); St. Joseph (1985-1986, 1993-1997); Sacred Heart (1988-1990); St.  Wenceslaus (1990-1992); and Our Lady of Ransom, Niles (1997-2004).

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Fr. Joseph Taylor

Retired pastor

Father Joseph C. Taylor, 97, died Dec. 8, 2024. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein before being ordained in 1953.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle, St. Maurice, St. Cajetan, St. Gabriel and St. Joseph the Worker, Wheeling, before serving as pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish (Nelson Avenue).

Later, Father Taylor served as associate pastor of St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy, Oak Park, and St. Edward Parish. He retired in 1997.

Father Dominic Clemente, pastor of St. Edward Parish, remembered Father Taylor as a kind-hearted, humble and faithful priest. “He would attend Holy Mass daily, even when he couldn’t celebrate the Mass,” Clemente said. “He loved hearing confessions, anointing people and offering pastoral counseling. Being with people and celebrating the sacraments are what gave him life.”

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